Golats Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Sorry everybody, I'm on the scrounge for advice again. I've just bought a Les Paul Copy and I've noticed one of the wires is loose on the pots. It's soldered to the casing on the neck volume pot but I have no idea where the other end should go and can't see any obvious areas where it has detached from. (I think I have that right - Clockwise from top left is Neck volume, Neck tone, Bridge tone, Bridge volume???) Does anybody know where I need to attach it? When replying please assume you are talking to a complete idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Hi @Golats, You're no idiot. Lack of knowledge isn't lack of intelligence... I hope. Anyway... Can you please check if you have a black wire going from the back of one of the pots going to a hole in the body in the general direction of the bridge? Also, in the pics, above the same volume pot you're talking about, there appears to be a stray black wire with a bobble 9f some sort on the end? What is that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golats Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 24 minutes ago, Grangur said: Hi @Golats, You're no idiot. Lack of knowledge isn't lack of intelligence... I hope. Anyway... Can you please check if you have a black wire going from the back of one of the pots going to a hole in the body in the general direction of the bridge? Also, in the pics, above the same volume pot you're talking about, there appears to be a stray black wire with a bobble 9f some sort on the end? What is that? You're too kind @Grangur.......but I am hopeless with anything electrical. In reply to your questions: There's a GREY wire, going from the casing of the bridge volume pot to a hole in the body. The two black wires going into the hole have other wires within them. The bobble you mention is actually a screw head. A black wire enters the body where the screw is, going in the general direction of the tail piece. Is that the one you mean? It's attached to the bridge volume casing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 The wires you mention that have another wire within them are screened wires. This is where the signal wire (often called the "Hot" wire) is surrounded by a netting of wire strands, and then all encased in another sleeve. These are generally used for wiring to the pups or the jack socket. The main core is the hot wire, the screen is used as earth. The screen also acts to reduce interference in the signal. It does sound like the bridge and tail are earthed. So, unless something isn't working, I wouldn't worry about the stray wire. The only other thing I can think of is, if the cover to the compartment is metal, or foil lined, it could be intended to link to the cover. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golats Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 Thanks for all that @Grangur, much appreciated. The cover is all plastic (no foil covering) by the way. I suppose I'll just have to plug it in and see what happens. Unfortunately I can’t test it at the minute as it’s in pieces, but once I get it back together I’ll see what it’s like through an amp. It won’t be tonight as I have to help my daughter with her GCSE chemistry revision! I hope she appreciates the sacrifices I make for her 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 It’d be worth checking the pickup casings - My old telecaster needed an added earth wire to the casing when I added a 4 way switch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 17 hours ago, Grangur said: It does sound like the bridge and tail are earthed. So, unless something isn't working, I wouldn't worry about the stray wire. The only other thing I can think of is, if the cover to the compartment is metal, or foil lined, it could be intended to link to the cover. That would be my guess too. Have a look at the inside of the cover and see if there's anywhere that looks as though it might have had a wire soldered to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Guessing, but maybe the control cavity is painted in Conductive Shielding Paint to reduce hum etc., and the stray wire should be attached to the screw? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golats Posted June 11, 2018 Author Share Posted June 11, 2018 (edited) Thanks for helping out everybody. I've re-strung it and tried it through my Micro Cube.....it sounds fine! While I'm playing there's nothing coming out of the guitar that shouldn't be there (buzzing etc). When I take my hands away there's some hum from it but my USA Tele and Peavey Predator do that too so that's normal right? Or the amp's knackered 🙂 There isn't any shielding in the cavity, no obvious areas on the pickup casings, and attaching it to the screw doesn't seem to make any difference at all. What should I do - just tuck it away and forget about it? Edited June 11, 2018 by Golats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 That's what I'd do; just tuck it to one side, so it won't touch anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golats Posted June 11, 2018 Author Share Posted June 11, 2018 That’s good enough for me @Grangur thanks for your help! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7e18f76540598a8efc0e6ca9be453059.jpg)
Recommended Posts